4th place Olympic finish bittersweet for Whitefish's Voisin

Maggie Voisin's 2014 Olympics ended before they began. The U.S. slopestyle skier was just 15 when she fractured her ankle in a training crash on the day of the opening ceremonies in Sochi. She's determined to change course in Pyeongchang. (Feb. 2)
AP

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea – Maggie Voisin admitted falling just short of a medal in her second Winter Olympics was bittersweet, but still endlessly better than being scratched due to injury.

Voisin of Whitefish, Mont., fractured her fibula on the third day of training at the 2014 Olympics, depriving the then 15-year-old -- the youngest U.S. Winter Olympian since 1972 -- of a chance to compete.

On Saturday, she not only got to the ski slopestyle start line at Phoenix Snow Park but reached the 12-woman final – albeit barely – and gave herself a chance to medal by moving into third place with her third run (81.20).

But that left nine skiers behind her still with a chance to pass Voisin. Great Britain’s Isabel Atkin succeeded, scoring 84.60 on her final run. Switzerland’s Sarah Hoefflin (91.20) and Mathilde Gremaud (88.00) took gold and silver in ski slopestyle’s second Olympic appearance.

“Dropping in I told myself, ‘All right, third time’s the charm,’” Voisin said. “Just super grateful to squeeze into the finals, and I knew I had more to give. To be able to put down one run is really all I could have asked for. Of course it would have been great to be up there on the podium, but you’ve got to take away the small wins.”

Voisin fell off the last jump on her first two finals runs. She was 12th in qualifying with a second run 73.00, edging Korea’s Lee Meehyun (72.80).

The Swiss skiers led throughout the finals with Hoefflin moving ahead of Gremaud on the third run. It was the bronze-medal spot that was up for grabs with Canada’s Yuki Tsubota there after the first run, Atkin after the second then Voisin and finally Atkin in the third.

American Devin Logan, a silver medalist in Sochi, did not have a clean run in the final on her 25th birthday and finished 10th. She also competes in ski halfpipe Monday and Tuesday.

Darian Stevens of Missoula, Mont., and Caroline Claire did not make the final, finishing 17th and 23rd.

Weather conditions were much better than they were for women’s snowboard slopestyle, when high winds left some riders and others questioning the decision to even start the already once-postponed event.

Voisin, who recently won the X Games, said her experiences – good and bad including an ACL tear – since Sochi helped in keeping her poise here and her ability to almost immediately put fourth place into perspective.

“I’m not a rookie anymore,” she said. “More than anything for me before I drop in, I take a deep breath and say alright Maggie, you’ve got it. For me it’s important to stay true to what skiing really means to me. I absolutely love it, and I want to let that show in my skiing.

“The progression of women’s free skiing has been pushed so hard these past few years and just to be a part of it is truly an honor.”

For Stevens, her first Olympics consisted of a fall off the rails on her first qualifying run then a 64.00 score on her second try.

“It’s kind of tough falling especially on my first run,” Stevens said. “My skis kind of popped off for no reason so silly mistakes like that can definitely get in your head. You’ve got to forget about it and know you’re capable of doing the run you want to do and let your body take over for you.

“I was pleased with my second run. The judges got me on my switch 5. I just went really fast and knew I was going to go to the bottom and had to let go of my grab early and prepare for landing. It happens. It’s hard to get your speed every single time.”

Voisin, Logan and Stevens all train in Park City, Utah.

“We’re super-good friends and being here with them in a pretty high stress situation makes it seem just another day in the life,” said 21-year-old Stevens.

“The Olympics has been a life-changing experience for me. Going to the Olympics has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. I didn’t make the final and that was one of my goals, but I made it here and that’s the hardest part. I missed out on the last Olympics by one spot so I’ve been building up for this for a while.”